Kurt_Steiner: My grandmother went to Mississippi once but quickly left when the locals made it known that they didn’t appreciate Northerners like her on their turf.
El Pip: Forbes is all about jobs, and if anyone in particular needs a job, it’s those who live in the slums. Even if Forbes is overestimating the benefits of creating jobs, the fact that he wants to do more to help those living in abject poverty than simply handing them welfare checks to live on is admirable.
Kurt_Steiner: Hence the need to force change on the South.
SirNolan: Moving into the mid-1960s, this is the time when hippies start to emerge. Expect a visit to
Haight-Ashbury in the future.
That is a good point.
We are certainly going to have “fun” in 1965.
“It would be like the least violent Western movie ever.” Hmm...
McGovern: Draw your guns, Malcolm!
Forbes: I don’t need to draw my guns, George. I can just foreclose on your house.
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The 1964 Republican National Convention
While the Presidential primaries were the main focus of political attention in the spring and early summer of 1964, there were other primaries going on to select candidates who would fill the ballot in November. One primary in particular stands out. Down in Texas, Republicans went to the polls on May 2nd to choose their nominee for the United States Senate. Until 1964, the idea of a Republican Senator from Texas was inconceivable. The Lone Star State had been a one-party state since the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s, with the Democratic primaries being the real election contest. However, things began to change in the early 1960s as the Democratic Party in Texas became bitterly divided between conservative and liberal factions. The two factions refused to support each other, both claiming that the other didn’t truly speak for Texans. This provided Texas Republicans, long maligned in the state, an opening to make gains. The election of John Tower as Governor in 1962 marked the first time the GOP won statewide office in Texas, signaling the beginning of the Lone Star State as a two-party state. Tower’s unprecedented victory suddenly made Senator Ralph Yarborough vulnerable. The leader of the liberal Democratic faction, Yarborough now faced a tough re-election battle in 1964 as his liberalism became a liability for him. As one Republican who sought to unseat him pointed out, Yarborough had
“voted down the line with the Fair Deal.”
That Republican was George Bush. A thirty-nine-year-old originally from New England, Bush had moved to Texas after World War Two to earn a fortune in the booming oil industry. He then entered politics, making a name for himself as a devoted and tireless campaign fundraiser for Tower’s two unsuccessful Senate bids and successful gubernatorial bid. Ambitious and energetic, the man who had never held elected office before decided to set his sights high by running for the Senate. Bush crisscrossed the state, shaking as many hands as he could. His wife Barbara tagged along, doing her needlepoint while listening to her husband deliver the same campaign speech for the umpteenth time. In a crowded field of several candidates, Bush came out of the May 2nd primary with 44% of the vote. Since no one got the majority of the votes, Bush and second-place finisher Jack Cox (a former gubernatorial nominee) faced off in a runoff election a month later – a first for Texas Republicans. Thanks to his fundraising experience, Bush outraised Cox by a margin of four-to-one. Trailing far behind in the money race, Cox attacked his rival over it:
“Just as surely as Rockefeller’s millions can’t buy the presidential nomination, George Bush with his millions can’t buy a Senate seat.”
Bush defended his fundraising:
“I am not going to apologize for running a properly financed campaign. My goal is to beat Yarborough. He is going to have many thousands of dollars from organized labor, which means I have to meet strength with strength.”
On June 6th, Bush defeated Cox in the runoff election and became the Republican Senate nominee. Campaigning hard against Yarborough that summer and fall, Bush was determined to win and make history by becoming the first Republican Texas Senator in nearly a century. Observers felt he had a shot.
“The more widely Bush can make himself known,” wrote “The Dallas Morning News”,
“It appears the better his chances will be.”
Six weeks after Bush won the runoff election, Republicans gathered in San Francisco, California for their quadrennial nominating convention. Their venue was the Cow Palace; opened in April 1941, the indoor arena had originally been called the California State Livestock Pavilion and was in fact owned by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In 1956, the GOP held their convention here which nominated former CIA Director Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. for President. Eight years later, the Republicans returned to the Cow Palace to nominate a Presidential candidate who would hopefully break their losing streak. The Party of Lincoln had lost the last three elections and was tired of being in the political wilderness. This time around the Republicans stood poised to nominate Malcolm Forbes for President. Although Forbes looked more like an accountant than someone who could be the leader of the free world, he had demonstrated during his two terms as New Jersey Governor that he knew how to run the government efficiently. For the party out of power in 1964, that was apparently good enough. On paper, Forbes went into the Cow Palace with enough delegates to secure the nomination on the first ballot. I say “on paper” because in reality he faced stiff opposition from conservative grassroots who strongly favored Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Although Goldwater dropped out of the race following his second place finish in the winner-take-all California primary and announced his support for Forbes, his diehard supporters refused to follow his lead. They had worked so hard to secure the Presidential nomination for Goldwater that they were unwilling to accept anyone else for the top of the ticket. Forbes’ genuine efforts to reach out to them and build party unity were routinely spurned. The conservative grassroots were determined to fight to the bitter end on the convention floor.
On Monday, July 13th, convention chairman Charles A. Halleck gaveled the 1964 Republican National Convention into order. California Governor William F. Knowland then mounted the podium to give the welcoming address to the 1,308 delegates gathered on the convention floor below him. Noting that he had been the party’s 1960 Presidential nominee, Knowland joked that
“although you have not come here to the great city of San Francisco to nominate me again for a second term, I take heart in the fact that here in this city, you will nominate the next President of the United States.”
That night, Oregon Governor Mark Hatfield delivered the traditional keynote speech. In it, he portrayed the Democratic Party as being stuck in the mud of the past:
“For the last twelve years, we have had three Administrations that have all feared the future. They have relied on the ways of the past, especially the mid-30s. Their records are those of reaction, not of progress. The fact is that the current Administration looks to the Administration of Franklin Roosevelt as its role model, an Administration thirty years in the past.”
Hatfield stressed the need for new forward-looking leadership:
“This nation cannot afford to follow the banners of retreat and reaction. This Republic needs new leadership...leadership that is not afraid of the future. We need to ponder – and seriously – what four more years of reluctant backing into tomorrow would do to this nation. We need leadership that does not fear the facts or fear the future.”
And guess which political party offered that:
“The Republican Party offers America a choice: a choice between fear and faith in the future.”
Tuesday, July 14th saw the convention formally approve the party platform. The Republican platform painted Jackson as being a failed President out of touch with the times and offered a clear path out of the mess created by twelve years of Democratic rule. The 1964 platform was conservative in tone but one that – in the words of “Time” magazine –
“any Republican can run on.”
Time was set aside that second night for speeches by the two living former Republican Presidents. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), a convention mainstay for three decades, was forced to miss this convention due to poor health. Growing increasingly ill and frail, the 31st President would pass away the following October at age 90. Thomas E. Dewey (1945-1953) mounted the podium and proceeded to attack the Democrats' economic record. The 35th President warned the country not to expect any economic improvements if the party in power won again for the fourth straight time in November:
“The Democrats have spent twelve straight years in the White House and what do they have to show for it? Nothing. Their program is one of failure: failure to create decent wages and failure to create jobs."
"Let me ask you: can a party which has not balanced the government’s budget in the past twelve years do so in the next four years? (Shouts of “No!” from the convention audience)
Can a party which has spent the past twelve years taxing and spending with nothing to show for it do any better in the next four years? (More shouts of “No!”)
Can a party which has driven our nation deep into debt these past twelve years be expected to get our nation out of debt the next four years? (“No!”)”
(The New York delegation, led by Governor Nelson Rockefeller)
Wednesday, July 15th was the big day: the day in which the roll call for the Presidential nomination would be held. A candidate needed 655 delegates for the nomination. As noted previously, Forbes on paper had enough delegates to secure victory on the first ballot...but he faced diehard conservative grassroots who would mount a final stand on the convention floor to try to wrestle the nomination away from him. That morning the New Jersey Governor warmly hosted breakfast for Goldwater and his family, and held meetings with former rivals California Senator Richard Nixon and Michigan Governor George Romney to secure their support for the fall campaign. That night in his suite at the St. Francis Hotel, Forbes settled in with his family and campaign team to watch the roll call on television. Steve Forbes, who was about to turn seventeen at the time, later compared the atmosphere inside the hotel suite to the Academy Awards:
“Watching that balloting process was a lot like watching the Oscars. We were sitting on the edge of our seats, waiting to hear if my father’s name would be called or not.”
Inside the Cow Palace, the air was thick with emotions as the nominating process finally got under way. Given the emotional mood, it didn’t take much to set people off. When New Jersey Senator Robert Kean gave his speech formally entering Forbes’ name into nomination as
“our next President of the United States”, there was a scattering of boos from the pro-Goldwater crowd. Despite a last ditch effort by the grassroots to convert Forbes delegates into Goldwater delegates, just after 10:30 PM Pacific Standard Time, Forbes crossed the 655 mark. He won the Republican Presidential nomination on the first ballot with a total of 752 votes. It should have been a moment of sweet victory for Forbes, having worked so hard to get to this point. Instead the newly-minted GOP standard-bearer watched silently as fervent Goldwater supporters, angry that they had lost the battle, booed the nomination of yet another member of the Eastern Establishment and shouted
“We want Barry! We want Barry!”
For the millions of Americans watching live on the three television networks, it was a shocking display of bad sportsmanship. Those who lost were expected by society to be good sports about it, but the passion of the Goldwater crowd was such that being good sports was almost impossible. Forbes’ seemingly-eternal silence was finally broken when a nearby black telephone rang. His campaign manager went over to answer it and then called out to Forbes:
“It’s Barry. He wants to talk to you.”
Getting up from out of his chair, the Governor quickly stepped over and grabbed the phone receiver. On the other end of the line, the Senator congratulated his former rival for winning the Republican nomination. He then asked with indignation:
“Are you seeing this spectacle on TV?”
When Forbes replied that he was, Goldwater let it be known that he didn’t approve the sore loser behavior of his supporters.
“Christ, this is no way to behave,” he stated with indignation.
“You won the nomination fair and square. I am going to put a stop to this.”
Sure enough, minutes later Goldwater made a dramatic appearance inside the highly emotional convention hall. After hearing the insistent chants of
“We want Barry!”, Mr. Conservative proceeded to sternly admonish his diehard supporters for their behavior.
“Some of us don’t agree with the choice this convention made in regards to the Presidential nominee of our party,” he said with all eyes focused on him,
“But I might remind you that this is always true in every convention of an American political party. In spite of the individual points of difference, the Republican nominee deserves the support of every one of us.”
Putting it bluntly, Goldwater told conservatives to put their personal feelings aside and support Forbes. He warned that
“radical Democrats” were counting on the San Francisco convention to produce a sharply divided Republican Party. The way to prevent that from happening was to get behind Forbes. Goldwater reminded his disappointed followers (among them a sixteen-year-old girl in Illinois named Hillary Rodham) that he was supporting his former rival,
“although he and I do disagree on a few points.”
“This country,” he declared at the end of his improvised effort to verbally whip his unruly supporters back into line,
“Is too important for anyone’s feelings. This country, and its majesty, is too great for any man, be he conservative or liberal, to stay home and not work just because he doesn’t agree. Let’s grow up, conservatives! If we want to take this country back, and I think we can this year, let’s get to work! Governor Forbes wants to work with us; we need to work with him!”
Goldwater’s speech helped soothe raw feelings inside the Cow Palace. Although some bitter-enders accused him of
“betraying” conservatives by endorsing Forbes, there was a general recognition once heads had cooled that as disappointing as it was that Goldwater wouldn’t be the GOP nominee in 1964, Forbes at least was someone conservatives could deal with on good faith. Conservatives could put up with him for now and try to win the nomination again later. By giving his forceful speech, Goldwater had demonstrated – in the words of one television commentator – that
“his commitment to the party is absolutely clear. He isn’t just on an ideological crusade. He is a Republican.”
Now that the top of the Republican ticket had been decided, attention immediately turned to filling out the other half of the ticket. There was a natural assumption after Forbes had been nominated that he would pick Goldwater as his running mate. It was an assumption that made political sense. Putting Goldwater on the ticket would be a huge boost for party unity and give the conservative grassroots the consolation that “At least our man is a heartbeat away.” It would balance the ticket regionally and ideologically, putting the GOP in a stronger position heading into November. However, there was a catch. Shortly after the California primary, Forbes had called on Goldwater at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. During their meeting, the Governor was informed by the Senator that having dropped out of the Presidential race, he was going to focus squarely on seeking re-election to the Senate in the fall. Although Goldwater didn’t outright say that he wouldn’t accept the running mate slot if offered, Forbes came out of the meeting with the impression that Goldwater wanted to remain in the Senate going forward and not leave his seat to become Vice President. So Forbes didn’t ask Goldwater to run with him (when asked later if it bothered him that he didn’t get the offer, Goldwater would answer “No”). If not Forbes-Goldwater, then what would the ticket be? The answer came on the morning of Thursday, July 16th. At his first press conference as the Republican Presidential nominee, Forbes unveiled his pick: Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois.
Why Dirksen? Dirksen was chosen to fill the running mate slot because Forbes regarded him as being the perfect choice in several ways. Dirksen was a Midwesterner, which would balance the ticket geographically. Furthermore he represented Illinois, a must-win state with 26 electoral votes. Dirksen was a conservative, which would balance the ticket ideologically. Dirksen had been in Washington for three decades, and his intimate knowledge of the ways of Washington would be helpful for a Washington newbie like Forbes. Dirksen was a leading supporter of civil rights, which would help attract black votes. Dirksen strongly supported the Vietnam War, and having him on the ticket would reinforce Forbes’ campaign message of staying the course in Vietnam. Dirksen had a flamboyant style, which would help balance out Forbes’ image as a nerdy accountant.
“No matter how you look at Ev,” Forbes told his aides,
“He’s perfect. He’s exactly what I need.”
For Dirksen, accepting the running mate slot meant not only leaving his post as Senate Minority Leader (which he had held since 1959) but also giving up the potential to become Senate Majority Leader. On the other hand, Dirksen recognized that Forbes wasn’t like the other Eastern Establishment Republicans. Forbes genuinely wanted to bring conservatives into the fold; by serving as Vice President, Dirksen would give conservatives a credible voice at the table of policy-making. Putting the party first, the Senate Minority Leader agreed to run on the ticket. The announcement was well-received at the convention, which nominated Dirksen for Vice President unanimously. Having put forward the Forbes-Dirksen ticket, all that was left for the convention to do that Thursday night was listening to Forbes’ acceptance speech. As part of his overall strategy of building party unity, Forbes asked one of his former rivals – Senator Nixon – to introduce him at the convention. Relishing a moment in the national spotlight, Nixon did his best to work up the crowd. He proclaimed that
“Governor Forbes is offering something to the American people that Senator McGovern cannot: a plan to get this great country moving again. After the last twelve years, America is ready to get moving again...and that is why we are going to win!”
Nixon predicted to a cheering convention that on November 3rd, the electorate would reward the Republican Party –
“the party of new leadership” – with not only the White House but also the Senate. Already controlling the House of Representatives since 1959, this would give the GOP complete control over the Federal Government for the first time since 1951. The California Senator concluded his speech:
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you the man who we right now call Mr. Governor but who, after the greatest campaign in history, will be called Mr. President: Malcolm Forbes!”
Amidst a sea of applause and cheers, Forbes stepped up to the podium to accept his party’s nomination for President. He stood still for a moment, seemingly absorbing the awesome fact that he was now one campaign away from becoming the 39th President of the United States. After the cheering had died down, Forbes started off his acceptance speech by thanking Nixon for his enthusiastic introduction. He then thanked Goldwater for his
“gracious support” in helping to
“unite this great Republican Party so we may meet the challenges ahead together.”
“With pride and a sense of deep humility for the responsibility that comes with it, I accept your nomination. With shared determination, we will win together.”
Indeed, party unity was the central theme of his acceptance speech. Several times throughout, Forbes appealed to
“my fellow Republicans” to put whatever personal feelings they had aside and work together to achieve victory in November.
“The Democrats doubt we can come together and win. They believe we are a house divided. We are going to prove them wrong.”
“Victory will be ours,” he proclaimed,
“Because we are all devoted to the same singular purpose: to give the American people a better future than what they have today.”
Across the country there was what Forbes called
“stagnation”, a feeling that the country was stuck in neutral, that people weren’t getting ahead in life like they used to. The cause of this stagnation was
“the New Deal philosophy, which the Democratic Party has been rooted to for the past thirty years.”
Under the New Deal philosophy, personal empowerment had been replaced by a highly-centralized Federal Government which believed it and it alone could solve everyone’s ills.
“The result has been a series of feel-good measures which in practice has done very little to improve the lives of our fellow Americans. The New Deal philosophy failed to lift people out of the terrible depression of the ‘30s and is still failing to lift our people today.”
According to Forbes, the signs of failure were everywhere. You could see the failure at kitchen tables across America, where adults sat and wondered if their livelihoods would improve any time soon. You could see the failure in the inability of young Americans to find good opportunities for their futures. You could see the failure in the slums of America’s cities, where
“our Negro citizens are trapped in lives of misery and despair. And what has the New Deal philosophy done for them? The same thing it has done for everyone else who has a problem: give them a check in the mail and a pat on the head.”
With the failures of the New Deal philosophy abundant, Forbes labeled the Democratic Party
“the party of stagnation. The party which does the same old thing because the same old thing is all they know how to do.”
Clearly the country needed to change course. The Republican Presidential nominee wanted to return to
“the proven Republican ways” of empowering the individual to improve their own lives. In sharp contrast to the current stagnation under the Democrats, he reminded his audience both inside the convention hall and nationally via television that the last time a Republican occupied the White House,
“we witnessed the greatest period of economic prosperity in our nation’s history.”
Under President Dewey, the country enjoyed a vibrant postwar economy where millions of returning World War Two veterans was able to receive college educations, was able to afford their own homes in massed-produced neighborhoods called suburbs, and was able to start their families (which kicked off a massive growth in population known as the Baby Boom). Forbes said the country could once again experience that kind of prosperity
“only if we return to the Republican ways, which unlike the New Deal philosophy, has proven to work.”
(Malcolm Forbes, circa 1987)
Turning to foreign policy in his acceptance speech, Forbes took his likely Democratic rival George McGovern head-on over what would be a major issue in the fall campaign.
“Tonight we are a nation at war in Vietnam. It is a war we need to fight. It is a war we need to win. It is a war Senator McGovern is determined to lose.”
Forbes gave Jackson credit for recognizing the strategic importance of South Vietnam and being willing to use military force to stabilize the country in the face of Chinese efforts to destroy the country from within.
“One only has to look at what happened in Laos to see the future of Southeast Asia should we abandon the region to the Chinese as Senator McGovern wants to do. In Laos, self-determination has been replaced by what the Chinese call ‘guidance’ from their government. Laos has lost her freedom, and Vietnam and Cambodia and Thailand will lose their freedom should we completely withdraw as Senator McGovern wants to do.”
As President, Forbes vowed to stay the course in Vietnam until victory was won. Victory, as clearly defined in 1962, meant destroying the Viet Cong and stabilizing South Vietnam so the bulk of US forces could be safely withdrawn.
“I will not allow the free people of Southeast Asia to fall into Chinese captivity. Senator McGovern will, but I will not.”
Pointing to recent Defense Department statistics showing that the United States had so far suffered 2,108 casualties in Vietnam, the Republican standard-bearer warned that
“the worse thing we can do for those young men who will come home from Vietnam carrying with them the wounds of war, or come home in flag-draped coffins, is to tell them that their sacrifices had been in vain. That after their blood had been shed in the name of defending Vietnam, we decided to abandon Vietnam to her fate. That is the worse thing we can do for them...and we must not do that.”
Another foreign policy issue Forbes discussed in his speech was nuclear weapons testing. He noted that next September would mark nineteen years since
“one bomb, of a magnitude never before conceived by mankind, completely destroyed the Japanese city of Nagoya.”
The Japanese learned firsthand how devastating nuclear weapons could be and since then
“we have all learned how much power these weapons hold. Therefore, it does not make much sense to continually test these weapons to see what they can do. We already know the terrible answer.”
He attacked Jackson’s lack of action on negotiating with the Soviets a curb on nuclear testing as
“dangerous” and painted McGovern as someone who wanted to negotiate from a position of weakness. Forbes explained his belief that any negotiations with the Soviets concerning peace had to be done so from a position of strength in order to ensure the best possible outcome.
“Senator McGovern wants to unilaterally stop our nation’s testing of nuclear weapons before asking the Soviets to do the same. My fellow Americans, that is not how you negotiate. Once the Soviets see that we are weak, they will have no incentive to take our diplomatic efforts seriously. And why should they? The Soviets only respect strength; they have no respect for weakness.”
To those who viewed the mere suggestion of talking to the Communist superpower as a sign of surrender:
“I want to make this abundantly clear: I will not surrender America’s security to any nation...but I will not be afraid to seek out ways to improve our security with other nations.”
Forbes concluded his acceptance speech by returning to his central theme of party unity. He contended that the Republican Party could take the country in the right direction only if
“we Republicans strive to do the necessary work together. If we want a country where opportunity is abundant for all our people, business is thriving, and power rests in the hands of the people, then we have to work together. If we want a government that follows the Constitution, spends the money we take from our people wisely, and does not seek to be the master over the daily lives of our people, then we have to work together. My fellow Republicans, we have to work together because we all share a sacred duty to do what is right for our country. This election is not about me. This election is not about you. This election is about our country.”
After he finished speaking, the new standard-bearer of the Republican Party was joined at the podium by his wife Roberta, his running mate Dirksen, and his wife Louella. Forbes and Dirksen posed together while the convention cheered them and signs were held up promoting the ticket. Republicans left the Cow Palace ready for the fall election, believing that an electorate disillusioned by and disappointed in the Democrats meant that the fourth time would be the charm.
